A Good Day Until It Wasn't
by Ficcin
Summary: Bella gets sick, but goes to work anyway. A couple hours later she can barely move. Edward picks her up, but is she really safe at his house? More importantly, who is in her dreams? Can Edward save her from the intruder in her dreams, or will he be too late? Fluff, EdwardxBella, My first story OVER 1K VIEWS!
1. Sick day

Summary: Bella gets sick, but goes to work anyway. A couple hours later she can barely move. Will she ask Edward for help or try to heal on her own? Fluff, EdwardxBella

Bella's POV

I woke up Monday morning, groggy, and foggy headed. I sat up and stretched and realized that I felt awful. Not like "Monday morning awful because I'm exhausted" but more like "I feel as if I have the plague and I may die awful". I stood up carefully and shuffled over to my bathroom. I reluctantly looked into the mirror only to see the horrors of my untamed, frizzy hair. I decided to have a quick shower before work. I hopped in and switched the water on. The hot water cleared my congested sinuses, and relaxed my stiff muscles. While drying my hair, I felt my forehead with the back of my hand. Realizing that I probably had a fever, I frowned, yet assured myself that after work I would come home right away. I got dressed slowly because the haziness in my head still had not cleared and I didn't trust myself with any quick movements. I walked downstairs to see Charlie making himself some breakfast. He smiled when he saw me and clapped me on the back. I had to grab the counter to not fall over.

"Hey Bells! You're up finally. Want some cereal?"

"No thanks" I mumbled.

"You alright?" he asked, still preoccupied with his Kellogg's.

"Yeah, just tired dad" I said as I opened the front door.

"No breakfast?" he asked again through a mouthful of cereal.

"Nope. Bye dad." I said shutting the door. I walked to my truck and it took every ounce of my self-control to not collapse in the seat as soon as I climbed into the cabin. I groaned when I remembered Edward was coming over tonight. Not that I didn't love being with him, I just didn't want me to see me in my half-alive state.

The drive was uneventful. I was actually quite proud of myself for not seriously mauling anyone in the process of driving the wet and annoying twisting roads. When I arrived at the shop, Mike was eagerly awaiting my arrival. He expressed concerns about how tired I looked and asked if he could get me anything. I brushed it off and excused myself to go stock the shelves. By noon I was sweating bullets, wearing 3 layers of long sleeved clothing, and had about 100 used tissues stuffed anywhere I could find a pocket. I shuffled to the back room to take my lunch break, but as soon as I swallowed one piece of my dry sandwich, my throat felt like sandpaper with a touch of fire. I slumped down onto the table. I felt absolutely awful, and I knew I couldn't make it through the work day. I surely couldn't drive home like this, and Charlie was working, and he was in such a good mood… That only left…Edward. Oh lord he would be worrying like crazy over me. I didn't see too many options left though, and Mike was NOT driving me home. I reluctantly lifted my cell phone from my pocket and dialed Edward's number. He answered right away

"Bella?" he asked "Are you alright?"

"Yes it's just that…"

"What's wrong?" he asked right away as his tone became tense

"I just don't feel well. If it's not too much can you come pick me up from work-"

"Be there in 2 minutes" he said and the line went dead.

I slumped back down to the table and drifted off into sleep.

"Bella?" a satin voice whispered from behind me. I whipped my head up to appraise my visitor, but unexpectedly my entire body decided to go "dead fish" and I collapsed ungracefully in a head dive for the floor.

Cool stone arms embraced me before I could make contact with the tile and I was then lifted up into Edwards's arms. Looking up slowly, I saw his beautiful face. The only thing wrong with it was that his countenance was in some form of pity and sadness like he had just found a half dead puppy on the side of the road. Inwardly I wondered if I looked half dead. Yeah, I probably did.

"Bella" he chided "Why didn't you stay home if you felt ill?" He felt my forehead and frowned after a second. "100.1." He said with a sigh. "Alright we're getting you to Carlisle."

"No" I rasped. I cleared my throat and amended "It's just a fever, no big deal. It'll be gone tomorrow."

He raised one eyebrow skeptically.

"Nope you're seeing Carlisle." He stated as he marched out the door with me limply dangling from his arms. Mrs. Newton gasped when she saw me.

"She's alright" Edward told her quickly. "I'm going to take her to the hospital though, she's got a pretty high temperature and it looks like she's running a fever." Mrs. Newton nodded and smiled at me and told me that she hoped that I would feel better.

"We aren't actually going to the hospital are we?" I asked nervously. Edward chuckled and walked on. By the time we reached Edward's car, I found that it was a struggle to even move. I ached all over, I had a pounding headache, and I couldn't swallow without wanting to internally combust. Edward must have heard me groan quietly when I tried to get out of the car, so he once again scooped me up and carried me to the door. We were greeted by Carlisle and Esme who both looked very concerned. I was carried up the stairs and placed on Edward's bed. In one flurry of movement, pillows were propped up behind me and my shoes were pulled off. I shut my eyes to avoid getting dizzy. The last thing I, well actually, we, needed was me fainting again. Edward informed Carlisle that I had a fever and then mumbled some more unintelligible words. When I opened my eyes, Carlisle was sitting next to me on the bed, pulling out various tools from a large black bag.

"I'm sorry you don't feel well Bella" he said sympathetically as he looked up from his bag. Actually I don't think it even qualified to be a bag, it was more of a suitcase.

"I'm alright" I said. Ew, I sounded like death. Carlisle's brow pinched and he requested Edward to help me remove the jackets I had bundled myself in. Edward jumped in of course, and helped me untangle myself from the fabric. When that task was done, I grabbed a tissue and blew as hard as I could to expel the offending sticky substances from my nose.

"Bella" Carlisle said as I reached for another tissue. "Forceful nose blowing can propel some infected mucus into the sinuses, where secondary bacterial infections may take hold"

Sighing I asked "Well what am I supposed to do with all of this…stuff?" gesturing at my nose.

"Well I've got to diagnose you to figure out what's wrong first." He said with a chuckle. "Open please."

I opened my mouth, hoping no one would notice my most-likely-offending-breath.

"Are you have any trouble swallowing?" he asked as he felt my lymph nodes.

'Yes, my throat feels awful' I wanted to say. But looking up at Edward, I was convinced that he still looked worried and sure that I had a dire illness. So I settled with a mere "Not too bad, but just um…" Carlisle and Edward looked at me questioningly until I finished my sentence pathetically. "Um…sort of."

"Bella please down downplay anything sweetheart. Carlisle and I are here to help you" Edward said as he enclosed my hand in his. I took a deep breath and admitted that I had some trouble swallowing.

"Well you most likely have strep throat. I'm going to give you a rapid strep test" Carlisle said softly as he pulled out a rather long cotton swab and asked me to open my mouth. He quickly brushed the back of my throat and before I knew it, the swab was out.

"I'll be back soon Bella" Carlisle said amiably and whisked out of the room. I turned to look at Edward.

"So, does he have a whole hospital in that bag or…?" I asked trying to make a joke. Edward grimaced and took my other hand.

"I'm sorry that you're sick sweetie" he said stroking my hair.

"It's not too bad. Really Edward." I tried to convince him I wasn't dying but it really wasn't going well.

"Carlisle should be back soon" he murmured, and sure enough, Carlisle appeared.

"The strep test came back positive. I'm going to make a quick run to the hospital to get your antibiotics, I'll be back soon." And he was gone. Now that there wasn't as much commotion around me, I started to feel the aches, chills, and pain again.

"Bella you look absolutely ashen. I'm going to help you lie down sweetheart." He placed his hand behind my back and lowered me back onto the mountain of pillows. "How is the pain?" he asked feeling my forehead again.

"Besides the fever, I'm just achy and exhausted" I told him quietly. He sat next to me on the bed and placed his cool hand over my forehead once more. It felt nice. He began to hum my lullaby, and I feel into a deep, peaceful sleep.

"Bella? Bella, wake up honey" a melodic voice hummed. I blinked a few times to be greeted by Carlisle with a medicine bottle and a small cup. "It's time to take your medicine Bella." I drank the disgusting tasting liquid and gulped some water. I almost gagged when I felt the burning in my throat again. I began to splutter up my large gulp of water and Edward was behind me instantly, helping me sit up and encouraging me to take deep breaths. Once my little fit was over, Edward was lying me down again onto the pillow mountain once again.

"Edward, I um need a human minute" I said rather awkwardly.

"Oh, yes. Sorry I forgot all about that" he said as he scooped me up and carried me to the bathroom. I smiled a little bit.

"Edward you don't have to carry me everywhere, you know." He flashed his beautiful smile back at me and proclaimed that he enjoyed being my personal transportation. I excused myself and used the bathroom. While washing my hands, I looked up into the mirror and almost flinched at my reflection. My hair was once again unruly, I had never really sorted it out this morning. Everything about me just screamed 'homeless'. I unlocked the door and walked back to the bed. Edward was gone, he must have gone downstairs. I didn't want to return to the bed, so I walked around the room slowly, then came to a stop at the wall that was entirely glass across from the bed. The sky looked gloomy today and the whole forest just looked darker. I peered out into the trees to see if I could possibly spot one of the wolves, but then shook my head. They wouldn't be this near the Cullen's house, idiot, the treaty remember? But as I turned from the window to go lie down, a flash of white caught my eye from one of the far trees. I looked back over to the general area where I had spotted the flash, thinking it may be another member of the Cullen family. I turned away when I saw nothing. But just 10 feet from the house I saw an unidentifiable person staring up into the window, right at me. Their eyes were red and glowing.


	2. A visitor

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I really did try to breathe, but my lungs seemed to be incapable of this action at the time. The visitor tilted his head to the side and drew his lips back into some sort of a smirk.

"Ed-" I whispered. "Edward" I managed a little louder.

Nothing.

I forced my legs to move. I ran away from the window, and out of the room and down the stairs. The house was empty. I began to wonder if I was dreaming, or if I had died and this was some sort of personal hell. Edward gone. Again. By the time I reached the middle of the living room, all of the dire possibilities had overwhelmed me, physically and mentally. My legs gave way, and I collapsed onto my knees. I looked out the window once more, and sure enough, the visitor was right next to the window looking in as if I was some sort of animal in a cage. He looked fascinated, but definitely hungry for his next meal.

"Edward!" I wailed with my last ounce of energy.

Nothing.

The visitor broke through the glass with ease, peppering me with sharp pieces of the large window. He crouched next to me and I heard him inhale sharply as he smelled my blood.

"Wonderful" he mused as he took in my scent. His teeth touched my throat and I stiffened, waiting for him to bite, but he sat up and looked me in the eye.

"Bella? Oh God Carlisle get over here" the stranger said. What?

"We need to stop the bleeding Edward, don't worry the cut isn't too deep it's just wide. It could have been worse" the stranger stated methodically. My vision was fuzzy by the time he finished his sentence, and I was beginning to feel more exhausted. More importantly, why hadn't he killed me yet? Here I was bleeding out in front of a vampire.

"Bella, open your eyes now please" requested a calm voice. I opened my eyes and a whole different scene was laid out before me. I was once again lying on Edward's bed, with both Carlisle and Edward leaning over me.

"Bella? Are you alright?" Carlisle asked, clearly concerned.

"Of course she isn't alright Carlisle, she's bleeding profusely!" Edward snapped. That woke me up.

"What?!" I asked stricken. Carlisle gave Edward a stern glance and leaned back from my forehead.

"You took quite a fall in the bathroom Bella" Carlisle informed me.

"I don't remember…" I trailed off as I reached up to touch my head. "Ah" I recoiled from the wound.

"Does it hurt that bad?" Asked Edward nervously.

"Not the worst I've ever had…but the blood…" I took a deep breath through my mouth to avoid the metallic, salty smell of the blood. I remembered my health teacher once telling me that head wounds bled the most, but it was important to remain calm. Carlisle's soothing voice brought me back to the moment.

"Edward told me that you had just finished using the bathroom and you collapsed and hit your head on the scale." Carlisle glanced over to the bathroom door which was now lying on the floor, hinges mangled. I put a hand over my mouth and my eyes widened instinctively. He had torn the door off the wall.

"It's no problem Bella, it's an easy fix" Edward assured me. I looked down in my lap, embarrassed yet extremely relived that the visitor was all just some crazy faint-induced dream of sorts.

"How are your pain levels?" Carlisle asked kindly. "Your head doesn't need stitches, but it is prone to infection, plus I need to monitor your strep, so I'm going to ask Charlie if you can stay the night."

"Carlisle, please don't tell him. He'll just worry and be upset. I could always go "shopping with Alice"" I pleaded

"Bella, I can't have you coming home from another fake shopping trip with bandages on your head and a large bottle of medication. Charlie would know." He said as gently as he could.

"Alright…" I agreed reluctantly. Carlisle left to call Charlie, and Edward gave me another dose of the awful medicine.

"Bella?" asked Edward when I finished.

"Mmm?"

"What were you…Dreaming about after you fell in the bathroom?"

Suddenly I was attacked with images of the visitor, his scarlet red eyes hungry for my blood. I flinched away from Edward's touch.

"Bella, love?" He asked, concerned.

"There was a visitor, one like you, except…not."

"I don't understand" he said slowly.

"A vampire, trying to kill me. And I was alone in this house." I finished.

"Oh Bella, sweetheart" he said in his beautiful velvet voice, and he wrapped me in his stone embrace. "I would never leave you." As soon as the words left his mouth he leaned back to study my face. Images from the dark days when Edward had left played before my eyes. "I'm sorry, I meant…I would never leave you- Oh Bella I'm sorry." He buried his face in my hair.

"Edward, you're here, that's all that matters now."

He pulled back, his eyes dark now. "Yes. And I swear no one will ever hurt you again. Including me." He looked over at the clock. "And now you need to rest." He said firmly. Kissing me softly, he tucked me into bed and promised he would stay with me.

I was once again alone. I looked over to the clock on the wall to see how long it had been since I fell asleep. The second hand was spinning counter clockwise, so I realized this was another dream. Sure enough, the same visitor was outside the window again, she same smirk lit up his face. I tried to sit up, but my muscles refused to obey me. I struggled even harder as the visitor broke the window and waltzed into the room at ease. I finally sat up, adrenaline fueling my escape. But as soon as I had crawled to the other side of the bed, he had grabbed my leg and flung me across the room. I landed on the floor and heard a sickening crack and realized that my left arm was broken. I groaned and rolled over to face my attacker.

"What do you want?" I asked weakly as I tried to back up into the wall. He leaned over me again and whispered in my ear "Bella wake up. Bella. Bella."

I gasped as my eyes flew open.

"Bella?" Shouted Edward.

"Edward? Oh Edward I had that horrible dream again and-" I paused and gingerly prodded my left arm, realizing that the pain had been induced by the dream. It felt so _real_ though! I had felt the bone break and the horrible sensation of the glass that had assaulted me in the last dream.

"What happened?" He asked, his eyes zeroing in on my arm. He looked confused.

"Edward, these dreams, they're all the same. Not the same but, the visitor who comes is always trying to kill me, and I can feel pain in the dream. Like real pain" I said gesturing to my arm. "I landed on my left arm in the dream and it broke. I heard the bone snap Edward, I did." Edward carefully took my arm.

"Does it hurt? Do you think it's broken?"

"No no, the damage is only real in the dream, not real life."

Carlisle entered the room with my medicine again, but right now my stupid illness was the least of my worries. I couldn't fall asleep again. If someone didn't wake me up in time…I don't know if I would make it. Edward muttered quickly to his father, explaining the strange dreams. Carlisle's expression was unreadable, and as soon as Edward had finished explaining, Carlisle's expression was grim.

"Bella, I've heard of this phenomenon many, many years ago. Just as Edward has the power to read minds, and Alice can see the future… This vampire has the power to kill you in your dreams" he stated morbidly.

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	3. The theory

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I tried to make sense out of Carlisle's words. Kill me in my dreams? But…

I was speechless. I looked over at Edward, his stony jaw set and his eyes were tight. His fists were curled tight, and if there had been anything in his hand, it probably would have been obliterated.

"How do we fix this?" Asked Edward, his words clipped.

"I'm not sure Edward" said Carlisle, glancing over at me. "We should move this to the other room" he whispered to Edward, and they were gone.

Tears streamed down from my eyes. We couldn't fix this. Humans need sleep, and you can't keep yourself from dreaming. As I thought over this, I came up with a theory. The vampire who was in my dreams must have to be nearby, or else he wouldn't know when I was sleeping. He would have to have eyes on me to know when to attack. I shook my head in utter defeat. I couldn't put the Cullens in danger to try and find him though. Esme, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett were all abroad and wouldn't be back for a few days. Even if we called them now, the plane ride would take at least a day, and I couldn't stay up that long mostly because I was sick and exhausted. Edward entered the room again, rushing over to cradle me in his arms, and dry my tears. Carlisle followed close behind, sat down at the foot of the bed, and took my hand gently and waited until I looked at him.

"Bella, Edward and I made a plan…of sorts. We would like to try to get Edward into your dream to defend you. Every time you fall asleep, you are sleeping soundly for 2-3 minutes, then you are attacked. The first time, we were lucky to get to you before you were killed." Edward flinched at Carlisle's choice of words. "The second time Edward woke you up when he heard you screaming. So if Edward enters your dreams-"

"So _when_ Edward enters your dreams" corrected Edward.

"Yes. When Edward enters your dreams, and he is fighting and if there is _any_ chance that it may look like he will lose, scream. I will wake you."

"How will he get into my dreams though? He can't sleep" I said baffled.

"Yes, but he can read minds. Though he can't read yours…I would like for him to try to enter your dreams, but you have to allow him. It is challenging for a human to enter another human's dreams, but Edward entering your dreams is not as difficult because of heightened brain activity in Edward while yours decreases in the first stage of sleep. Is that alright?"

"Yes" I answered immediately. I needed to get the intruder out immediately. "But do you think the visitor in my dreams is nearby? Wouldn't he have to be able to know when I'm sleeping in order to attack?"

Carlisle shook his head.

"He doesn't have to be…" Carlisle began.

I guess I agreed. It wouldn't matter because he would be too busy attacking me in my dreams again to bother.

"Alright Bella, are you ready to try this? Carlisle will wake you up if you are in danger" Edward said stroking my hair.

"Let's do it." I stated, and I laid down on the bed.

"Think about me while you fall asleep, and when you wake up in the dream, darling" Edward said as he pulled up my blankets. He kissed me, and I quickly fell into a restless sleep, thinking of Edward. Hs beautiful features, the way his skin sparkles beautifully in the sunlight, and the way his lips felt against mine…

I opened my eyes to an empty room and immediately sat up and began to recite think of Edward. Solely Edward thoughts. I saw the visitor perched on the branch, the same smile plastered on his horrifying face. I closed my eyes to help myself concentrate. About thirty seconds later, I was snapped out of my trance when I heard the door creak open. I opened my eyes to the dark room and peered over at the door. It opened a bit farther and I realized that the visitor was no longer outside of the window. My heart sped up, and my breathing became rapid. I was becoming light headed when the door fully opened and a tall slim figure slipped in. I was about to scream when a hand clamped over my mouth.

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	4. The dream, The nightmare

I fought as hard as I could against the cold hands restraining me. The hands turned me around and before I knew it, I was looking into Edward's panicked eyes.

"Bella!" He hissed. "It's me! Don't scream, you'll wake up. It was hard enough to enter your dream, I don't know if I can do it again." He said with a cautionary glance at my mouth. I took a deep breath and shuddered as I let it out. He almost gave me a heart attack for crying out loud.

"All right?" He asked, quirking up one eyebrow.

"Yes" I breathed out.

"Where is he usually when you wake up?" asked Edward, scoping out the room.

"On that tree, smiling at me" I whispered, pointing at the empty branch.

Edward involuntarily shivered and took my hand gently. "Okay let's go downstairs."

I followed him, our feet softly padding down the carpeted hall. We came to the staircase and Edward stopped me. He peered around the corner then took my hand once more and gently tugged it, signaling that I should move forward. My grip on his hand tightened as we walked down the flight of stairs. It had only been about 4 hours since I had passed out and came down these stairs to be attacked by the visitor-

I was cut off mid thought when I heard a door handle jiggle. As soon as the noise began, it had stopped, and Edward was now on edge, his grip on my hand tightening as he looked around for the threat. My hand cried out in pain when I felt his stone digits squeeze tighter, wrapping around my hand entirely, almost crushing the bones.

"Edward, stop." I squeaked, trying to pull my hand loose. Edward quickly let it go, and threw me an apologizing glance as he disappeared from the staircase. And just like that I was alone.

"Edward!" I hissed angrily. I looked around the room in a panic, looking for a flash of white or a reassuring 'shush' from him. I heard the door handle rattle accompanied with a shatter of glass and splintering of wood. I gasped and tried my best to run down the stairs without seriously maiming myself. At the bottom of the staircase, I turned right into the kitchen and was faced with a blur of movement and the sound of boulders crashing together. I realized these 'boulders' were the two fighting figures who were nearing the kitchen counter. It was promptly smashed as Edward was thrown into it. I stopped breathing as the visitor walked over to Edward to finish him off.

"H-Hey!" I yelled meekly. His head whipped over to where I stood and I paled as he swaggered across the tile to meet me. He stopped right in front of me and delicately took a lock of my hair and smelled it. My breath hitched as I saw that Edward had a crack in the side of his cheek. He looked over at me, glaring at the visitor as soon as he saw that he was touching me. Before I knew it, Edward was gone, and the visitor was knocked to the side of me. I stumbled back in surprise and tripped on my feet, as suspected. I fell hard on my backside and heard more smashing from the kitchen. Before I could stand up, I felt a cold hand on my leg, dragging me across the floor and throwing me into the wall. I blinked several times, disoriented, and realized my leg was bleeding. The pain was excruciating, almost to the point I needed to wake up.

"Edward should I wake up?" I whispered hoarsely, not trusting my probably-faltering-voice.

"No!" Came the intense reply. I stood on weak legs and hauled myself to the living room. The fight wreaked havoc throughout the room, and I couldn't tell who was winning. I thought back to the fight on the mountain with Victoria and Riley. This vampire was definitely not newborn, so he would not be as distracted by the smell of my blood. But if I could inch closer, the blood would be more pungent, therefore giving Edward the advantage. I strode over on wobbly legs close to the scene of the fight. As soon as I was three feet away, the fight slowed as the visitor was distracted and hungered by my scent. I was glad the wound would only last in the dream, because I was close to tears. A large piece of splintered wood had cut it, and it was not helping to stand on it. I doubled over in pain and hoped that Edward was winning the fight, because I couldn't stand here much longer.

I looked up and saw Edward getting the visitor in a headlock. In a moment, his head was dismembered from his body, along with the rest of his limbs. He broke them apart easily and there were parts scattered around the room before my eyes. It almost made me sick. Edward had slipped matches into his pocket before entering my dream, and easily collected the body parts and lit them on fire in the middle of the living room.

"I sure hope this isn't permanent" he joked as he looked over to me for the first time since he had begun the fight. His eyes widened as he saw my disheveled state. I was kneeling on the ground, my hand gripped around the wound. I tried to smile to humor him, but I'm sure it was really a grimace. He was at my side at once, prying my hands off my leg and apologizing copiously.

"Bella" he cried in horror. "Your leg! I didn't even realize…I was so focused on the fight and I should have let you wake up" he sighed regretfully. "You need to try to wake up, Bella" he said taking my face in his hands. "I'm going to leave to wake you up." He kissed my head and he was gone. I waited a few moments then stood up on shaking legs and walked across the living room. I was distracted by a large mirror that was unbroken. I peered into it, looking at my reflection. I blinked a couple times, confused. In the reflection of the mirror, the living room looked as it did before the fight. The couch was upright, the walls dent-less. I must have stared into that mirror for 5 minutes until I saw Jasper pacing the living room, looking deep in thought.

"Jasper!" I yelled. Instantly his head turned to the mirror. He looked at me in disbelief, then walked closer.

"Bella?" He asked bewildered.

"It's me Jasper! I've been stuck in this dream…Edward left a little while ago"

Jasper called out a few words that I couldn't make out, and soon the entire Cullen family was in the mirror, Edward standing in the center, looking terrified, yet relieved.

"Bella!" he yelled. "Where in the hell…I thought you were dead!" he shouted at the glass.

"I don't know how to get out but it's only been 5 minutes since you left, so I'm alright."

Edward looked at me in shock.

I wanted to cry. I couldn't stand the pain for any longer. I walked up to the mirror, and a single tear fell from my eye.

"Edward, I miss you so much." I blubbered as I recollected all the beautiful times we spent together. They would be no more if I couldn't escape this nightmare.


	5. Back to real life&Edward's POV

My leg couldn't hold my weight anymore, and I tipped forward, but when I tried to brace myself on the mirror, my hands went straight through. I squinted up and then realized that I was on the _other side of the mirror_. Edward caught me with ease and kneeled down and shook his head in disbelief.

"Bella!" He took my hands and looked down at my leg. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry." I've been so worried…two days without you…You weren't even in my bed where you had fallen asleep." He sounded broken.

"What?" I questioned as the rest of the family joined us on the floor.

"Honey, it's been two days since Edward had left your dream." Carlisle said slowly.

I scrunched my eyebrows together. No.

"I only looked in that mirror for 5 minutes tops."

"Time is whacked up in there" said Emmett with a small grin.

I poked my leg gently, then remembering there would be no damage, I sat up, still in Edward's protective hold. All I wanted now was to blow my nose and eat some oatmeal.

"We told Charlie your strep got worse, so you would have to stay the week. We didn't know if you would…appear again though." Edward finished, sounding torn to pieces. Esme held Edward's hand as he tried to get himself back together.

"Other than that, how are you feeling Bella?" Carlisle continued warmly. I had forgotten all about my head, the bandages were not present in the dream. It felt fine actually since it had 2 days to heal. The strep was also not as bad as it was before I dreamed. I was extremely relieved to hear that the visitor did not attack the Cullens while I was in my dream. I searched the faces of all the people hunched over me. Jasper looked confused, Esme worried, Carlisle questioning, Emmett slightly grim, Alice preoccupied, Rose uncaring, and Edward…Looked pained.

"Bella?" Carlisle asked again.

"Hmm?" I asked.

Carlisle must have sensed Edward's obvious distress so he whispered reassuring words of "she may be disoriented for a while, she hasn't eaten or drank anything in 2 days."

Oh. That was the gnawing in my stomach and the dryness in my mouth.

Esme pampered and fussed over me for the next couple hours, feeding me loads of protein and electrolytes. Unfortunately, Carlisle had to hook me up with an IV to assist in rehydrating me. I was a good "patient" though, I took my medication and ate all the foods they wanted me to. By nightfall, I was exhausted. Edward laid next to me in his bed and worried. As usual.

"Are you sure I can't get you a drink? Or something to eat. Anything?" He pressed.

"Edward, I am genuinely feeling okay" I assured him. Of course that wasn't true though, going 2 days without nutrition left you feeling…well dead. Carlisle came in every few hours to check on me. Sadly, the IV would have to stay in overnight. Edward stroked my hair and I was lost in his eyes.

"Edward?" I asked.

"Yes love?"

"How did you…get in my dream…How did you find me?"

EdwardPOV

Bella fell asleep with a small smile on her face which would have made me blush if I could. I sat on the side of the bed and rested my hand on her forehead and closed my eyes. Finding her dream was not at all like reading minds, though I'm sure my power made it easier to. As I searched, I found nothing, until I saw a small image of our living room. Yes! I pressed harder and before I knew it, I was standing in the image I has saw. Bella's dream. I walked up the stairs silently, remembering that Bella would wake where she fell asleep. I opened the door slowly, in case I was wrong and the visitor was waiting to attack. The damn thing creaked, so I gave up the whole "sneaky" idea and opened the door fully. I saw Bella looking horrified and about to scream, so I ran over to her and pressed my hand over her mouth to stop it. She fought me, so I spin her around and gave her a much panicked glance.

"Bella!" I hissed. "It's me! Don't scream, you'll wake up. It was hard enough to enter your dream, I don't know if I can do it again." I said with a cautionary glance at her mouth. She looked as if she was going to fall over now.

"All right?" I asked.

"Yes" she said quietly.

"Where is he usually when you wake up?" I asked, searching the room

"On that tree, smiling at me" she whispered, pointing at an empty branch.

I involuntarily shivered. What the hell? She wakes up to this? I took her hand gently. "Okay let's go downstairs."

When we came to the staircase, I stopped Bella so I could look for the visitor. Nothing downstairs. I took her hand once more and led her down the stairs. Suddenly the living room patio door handle was grabbed. Ah, so he was being polite about it. Not ruining the house. How. Kind. My anger welled up and I became rigid.

"Edward, stop." Bella cried out. I quickly let it go, and gave her an apologizing glance as I disappeared from the staircase. I flew to the back door and I was face to face with our "visitor".

Edward!" I heard Bella hiss angrily

He smiled and took the door handle once more, attempting to open it. I lunged, yet he was quick. I shattered the glass, but he threw me back against the wall. I grabbed his head, but he grabbed my leg in return, almost snapping it in half. I let go and sprung away, but he kicked me into the kitchen. I stood up and punched him right in the gut, and he flew against the wall. He stood back up and before I knew what was happening, I was thrown into the counter. My cheek was cracked slightly, but it was no matter, because the visitor was about to finish me off. Before I could scream to Bella to wake up, I heard a feeble voice yell "H-Hey!"

The visitor forgot all about me and walked gracefully over to where Bella stood. He stopped right in front of her and took a lock of her hair and smelled it. I was so mad, I was shaking. I sprung at the visitor once more, shoving him to the floor.

"You don't touch her" I spat.

"Oh?" He asked with a chuckle.

I was once again thrown. I almost cried out in pain when I hit the tile. I was sure to make an astounding crater. I shut my eyes and pressed the heels of my hands into them. How could I win? Bella must have thought I had enough because she asked if she should wake up.

"No!" I replied with renewed strength. I was going to kill this thing. Why was Bella no longer in the doorway? I was surprised by a rough kick and the fight moved through the living room. As soon as Bella had walked into the room, the visitor became disoriented. I grabbed him in a headlock and pulled as hard as I could. I gave one last pull and the head flew off. I grabbed the rest of his body and broke off his limbs, and they scattered throughout the room. I collected them easily and lit them on fire. I tried to make a joke to lighten the mood for Bella, but when I looked over at her, my mouth dropped. She was on the floor, her hand gripping her leg which was…bleeding. That's why it made the fight so easy. I was sickly reminded of the fight with Victoria and Riley. I quickly ran to her, attempting to pull her small fingers off the wound.

"Bella" I cried in horror. "Your leg! I didn't even realize…I was so focused on the fight and I should have let you wake up" I was so frustrated…What a fool I had been. I took her face in my hands. She looked awful.

"I'm going to leave to wake you up." I kissed her head and began my journey back to real life. I hoped she would not be in pain for long. I reached back to the present and when I blinked, I was sitting on my bed. Bella, however, was nowhere to be seen. My hand which was on her forehead, was now on the pillow where she laid.

"Carlisle?!" I called. He came running in from the hall. Reading his mind, I found out that he saw Bella disappear moments ago. Right when I left her dream.

"Where is she…How did she disappear…" I was utterly broken.

"I have no idea Edward. I'm not sure where she is, maybe she's stuck in her dream…I just…" He raked his hand through his hair. "I've never seen anything like it before."

Two days went by. Two days of pure torture. Pure hell on earth. I didn't know if I could stand even living when I heard Jasper's mental distress from downstairs. The only word I could read from his mind was "Bella". And I couldn't bring myself to go downstairs until he had called me. Maybe this wasn't a joke. I was downstairs in an instant, and when I saw Bella in the living room mirror, I shoved my way to the front of my family to get a better view of my angel. Stuck in some…parallel dimension. There were no words for what I felt.

"Bella!" I cried out. "Where in the hell…I thought you were dead!" I wailed.

"I don't know how to get out… but it's only been 5 minutes since you left, so I'm alright."

I looked at her in pain. She began to cry and I couldn't stand it. I couldn't fall apart in front of her, I couldn't…

"Edward, I miss you so much." she blubbered.

And just like that, her leg gave out and she fell through the mirror, into my surprised hands.

After explaining my side of the story Bella was exhausted, so I let her sleep. I was once again alone with my thoughts. Even if I had killed him in Bella's dream, would he still be alive in real life?


	6. Epilogue

Warning: Major fluff J

I slept for about 12 hours that day. When I woke, Edward was at my side.

"Good morning love" he mumbled as he smoothed my frazzled hair back over the top of my head.

"Mmm, morning Edward" I replied happily, there was not another place on earth I'd rather be right now. We enjoyed each other's embraces for a while, until I excused myself to shower and freshen up. I called Charlie. Apparently he had been well updated twice a day each day by the Cullen's. He had gone away for a week on his fishing trip that he had been planning for a while. He regretted it, but Carlisle had assured him I would be in good hands. I told him that I felt fine, and let him get back to his vacation. This would be the last day that I would have to take the strep medication, even though I missed it for 2 days. Esme had prepared a large amount of food for me, almost like a buffet. I chowed down while Edward happily looked on, glad to refill my cup. By around 2 that day I had enough energy for a walk. Edward was hesitant, but I assured him we wouldn't have to go far. We passed Jasper, Alice, and Emmett in the living room. Esme and Carlisle had gone out to hunt, and Rosalie was shopping. Emmett was extremely bored, so he decided to bother us.

"Bella!" He called as I walked into the room, and he raced over to embrace me.

"Em-Em-" I attempted to greet him, but I was being squished.

"Emmett!" Yelled Edward unhappily. "You're crushing her!" He shouted angrily as he pried Emmett's vice like arms off of me.

"Sorry" he apologized with a smug grin. I smiled at him and Edward snaked his arm around behind my back and led me out the door. The fresh air was amazing, I breathed it in and sighed contently as we strolled through the forest. Edward was leading me to the meadow, I realized with a smile. We spent a good amount of time in the meadow, kissing and just loving each other. When we returned to the house, Edward told me that he would be right back, and rushed off to get whatever he needed. I meandered around the perimeter of the house, stopping where Edward's window was. I involuntarily shivered when I saw the tree the visitor sat in to watch me. I almost walked past it, when I saw an unusual sparkling rock near the trunk of the tree. My breath hitched when I realized that it was a vampire's arm. My strength failed me and I fell to my knees, uttering an awful choking noise that I could not control. Seconds later, Jasper was by my side, sensing my emotional distress.

"Bella?" He asked kneeling in front of me. The color had drained from my face, and my eyes were fixed on the stray limb. He turned, seeing the arm, he left me to go examine it. A few seconds later, Edward had returned with wild flowers from our meadow. He dropped the bouquet when he saw my expression and my lack of color. He rushed over to me, and held me tight.

"What's wrong love, are you feeling well? No, you're chilled." He leaned back to look into my face.

"Bella?" He questioned again, waving his hand in front of my eyes. He eventually averted his eyes to the arm that I had been staring at. Jasper was leaning over it intently. Edward picked up the scent immediately. He left my side for seconds, giving Jasper instructions on how to dispose of the limb, also asking him to find the rest of the body and do the same with it. He returned to me then, and gently took me into his arms. I was numb. The scene replayed in my head many times, it was burned into my eyelids. I couldn't close my eyes to escape it. Instead I vacantly stared at the buttons on Edward's shirt while his golden eyes scrutinized mine. He laid me on the couch, and called Carlisle. I picked up on some parts of the conversation.

"Shock? I don't know, did we hydrate her enough?" "No, it was his arm" "I found her kneeling on the ground…Yes…Yes..." "Hurry please". And just like that he was by my side again.

"He won't hurt you Bella, Jasper got rid of him. He was only there because that was where he was when I killed him in your dream. You won't ever see him again." He convinced me. He took my hand and wrapped his hand around the back my head, his stare melting me. "I swear to you Bella." I must have nodded, because he buried his face in my hair again, whispering about his love for me. It warmed me, almost melting away the bad images inside. Carlisle arrived later, conducting a few tests on me. He prescribed lots of food and water, one last dose of medicine, and some TLC from Edward. He carried me to the kitchen where he prepared me a sandwich. He was delighted when I asked for another.

The next few days were wonderful. Edward pampered me and we spent lots of time together. I didn't want to return home when Charlie got back from his fishing trip, but I knew he would be worried about me. Edward drove me home and kissed me goodbye.

"You'll be here tonight, right?" I asked.

"Of course" he smiled. "Not such a bad day then eh?"

And it was a good day.

Until it wasn't.

The End! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did. Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows, and don't forget to come back soon, because I'm currently writing a new story!


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